Friday, September 18, 2015

Herzlich Willkommen

"Why are you here then? You are rich." Hands full of slimy, wet food from the kitchen sink drain where we just cleaned today's lunch dishes, this question stung me with surprise. It was asked by a young father living hundreds of miles from his family in Afghanistan as a refugee of the German government. He had just learned, with much shock, that Kelly and I are U.S Americans, not Europeans as he had assumed. A small silence filled the room and despite his deep missing of his wife and small children, he simply commented on the fact that there are "too many U.S soldiers in Afghanistan." Kelly and I nodded in agreement while muttering awkward apologies and then quietly went on with our cleaning of the refugee hotel where we are volunteering for two weeks here in the Chiemgau Alps of Southern Bavaria.
Biking in the Moor near the hotel

It has been an interesting and eye-opening week at the hotel. We got here after spending our first few days in Germany as guests of a friend's family near Nürnberg (Nuremberg) as well as in a small university town right outside of München (Munich). We've greatly enjoyed the people and the beautiful scenery, and have indulged in the affordable price of good cheese, bavarian pretzels, and bread! We also had an excellent time at a local Volksfest where the beer hall was completely packed with men in traditional lederhosen and women in stylish dirndls! We chose correctly by starting our trip in Bayern (Bavaria) because it is where almost all German stereotypes come from; and being Oktoberfest season, we are here at a good time!

The hotel that we are now working at is home to 22 young male refugees from Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Syria. It is really amazing at the dinner table when we are eating afghani food, hearing Dari and Arabic while speaking English and German with fellow Peruvian, Czech, and Albanian volunteers! So many cultures mixing in this small Alpen village. We've al so had a lot of fun dancing with a few of the afghani guys at an after-lunch tea party.











We will be here for another week and a half before heading eastward to Vienna and Prague! Missing home but also considering making this our new home ;) xoxo




Von meinem iPhone gesendet

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